Bradley (You're a Fine Girl)
by Shocotate
Summary: As the Promised Day draws ever closer, Pride tries to keep Wrath in line about where his loyalties lie.


Man, this fic did not wanna get written, but I finally made it, a whole month plus after the movie that inspired it came out. What am I like?

So, this is inspired by the song Brandy as it appears in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, so erm, maybe spoilers for the movie too? Kurt Russell is so awesome, I love the scene where they talk about Brandy. Also Brandy sounds like Bradley so…I hope people can see where I was going with this.

By the way, I'm going by the manga continuity here, with Pride having a tutor and not going to school. You can see her in chapter 45 of the manga.

Anyway enough time wasting, on with the fic!

Hiromu-sensei owns FMA, too!

* * *

 **Bradley (You're a Fine Girl)**

" _Once upon a time, in a town by the sea, there lived a girl called…_ hmm…erm..."

The boy hummed to himself as he pottered through the mansion's identical white corridors, poring over his piece of paper for any potential errors, as if he had made any. The path from his study room to the tearoom was such a familiar one he needn't look where his container's feet led him. A path that had, for now, become obsolete.

At last, some temporary freedom from his tutoress and her ever increasing, seemingly endless lessons. No longer could Wrath demand his lessons drag on for most of the day, keeping him away from Mother and his own far more imperative tasks. Pride made a note to ensure that any time Wrath ventured home in future it would be to the sight of _him_ nestled close to Mother's side. That'd teach him.

Mustang's dog tensed as he stepped past her, a change in her stoic posture imperceptible to any human, but Pride's perfect eyes saw, a playful smirk cutting into his cheek. He hugged his paper to his chest with one hand while he stretched for the door handle with the other. Silly Miss Hawkeye didn't deserve to see it. At least she served a truer purpose in this case, confirming his suspicions that Wrath had once again shirked his responsibilities as führer and come to visit. Pride beamed at his own impeccable timing. Now he needn't delay in his plans for this afternoon, and then Wrath could get back to more important matters.

Leaving Hawkeye to continue masking her oh-so-obvious trepidation, Pride poked his head into the tearoom.

The weakening winter sun streamed in through the windows, bathing the room in a warm, orange glow. Everything lay in its usual, perfect familiarity, nothing out of place, no evidence of the _incident_ the month before remaining. Seeing the two chairs occupied he called out, pushing the door open further.

"Ah, here you are!" As if she could be _anywhere_ else. "And father, too!"

"Did you enjoy your lesson, Selim?" Mother said, already standing and pouring him some tea.

"Yup, and because it was my last one for a while, Miss Wespe let me write a story!" Pride sat himself on the couch opposite Wrath and his wife, watching as she dropped the sugar cubes in. _Plop, plop._ They dissolved with a pleasant, fizzing hiss. "It isn't finished, but it's about a girl named…er-"

He still hadn't decided the girl's name.

Pride's pale purple eyes darted around the room for some inspiration. He glanced at the door, and over to the shelves that held Wrath's collection of drinks, hidden from sight, but the concept of them was enough to spark his childish imagination. What kind of names did they have? Ah, yes.

"-um…Brandy!"

Mother covered a quiet, loving laugh with her hand at his sporadic choice of names.

"That's a wonderful name, darling."

"Can I tell you what I've written so far?" He unfolded the paper, looking to his adoptive father for _permission_. How absurd.

No doubt Wrath would try and wriggle his way out of it, make some excuse, ' _not now, Selim, I have to get back to work'._ While Pride would have preferred Wrath make himself useful by staying at Central Command, it was better he hear this _now_. At least from here on the top floor the window wasn't a legitimate means of escape, either.

"Let's hear it." The younger homunculus acquiesced.

Beaming at his dear father's approval, Pride pushed himself up, cleared his throat and mentally added his new name for the girl in the blank spaces he'd left before.

" _Once upon a time, in a town by the sea, there lived a girl called Brandy. She was a waitress in the town, and all the sailors who arrived from the harbor appreciated her a whole lot."_ Pride paused for a moment, as if remembering something. "You were a waitress, too, weren't you, Mother?" He asked, though of course, in his act and outside it, he knew already.

From just above the paper he caught Wrath shift ever so slightly, focusing his uncovered eye on him more intently. Ah, so he _was_ paying attention after all.

"Yes, when I first met your father." Mrs. Bradley fell into a daze of her younger years, no doubt about how she had slapped poor, rude Wrath. Pride grinned along with her reminiscing, not in the tale that she had recalled countless times, more that he had been fortunate enough to witness such a thing back then. "Oh, but please keep going, dear."

"Ok, so – _Everyone admired Brandy so much, she worked so hard. Brandy had fallen in love with a sailor who came to visit sometimes."_ Pride watched her reaction, the quaint smile easing wider in the corners of her mouth. _"He brought her all sorts of lovely presents from far off countries, but he couldn't stay for long."_

It faltered a tad at the somber note, though far too enthralled in his story to see Wrath's irked expression. Wrath should have been glad the Promised Day was so close, with how inept he was at keeping his act in check. Pride's own flawless façade shone all the brighter, blinding her from Wrath's inadequacy.

" _The sailor had to go away. The sea was just too big and beautiful to be apart from. It's so strong and perfect, it called to him, and he couldn't ignore it. He loved her, really he did, but the sea was something greater than the two of them, his greatest love. To sail and serve the sea…it was his purpose."_ His head snapped up over the paper. "It's why he was born, even!" Pride's eyes glittered in his own deep, endless admiration for the 'Sea', like he was the sailor himself, longing to explore the whole world. He hoped that's all what Mother gleaned from this, not the _other_ thing…

Wrath still glared from his place at her side. No matter, at least he was listening. He needed to hear this.

"I haven't thought of the ending yet, though…" Pride set the paper down beside him, tapping at his chin while he pondered. "Mother, what should Miss Brandy do? Doesn't she see? He might love her, but the sea is the sailor's life!"

"Oh? I'm sure she would try to understand, and enjoy their times together the best she can."

Pride gave Wrath a knowing glance, buried beneath his pure veneer.

 _See? Even a_ human _like she knows her place._

She was just a temporary distraction; a charming, curious, pleasant distraction, but nothing more. But Mother continued, offering an _unwelcome_ alternative.

"Maybe one day he would come back, and stay. I'm sure the girl would still be there for him, when the sailor can no longer go to the sea…"

"Oh, that'll never happen." Pride said in complete certainty, his eyes lidded and content. Mother's foolish fancy was irrelevant, but he'd better put an end to it. "Nope, nothing'll ever keep him from the sea!"

"Of course not, darling." She indulged his boyish stubbornness with another smile. No one ever grew old in those kinds of stories. The sailor would forever be fit and well, traversing the falling and rising sea, and Brandy would likewise linger, forever waiting, longing…

Perhaps this wasn't such a nice story.

"I'm sure whatever ending you decide will be wonderful. Maybe your father can help you before he has to go back to work? Now, I'll go fetch something from the kitchen." In her usual routine after his lessons, Mother stood and headed for the door to prepare his lunch. Mother could obviously ask a maid to fetch it, but it seemed she enjoyed making the effort to do things especially for him. Another one of her peculiarities. "I'll be about ten minutes, ok, dears?"

The two homunculi nodded towards her, and waited for her to leave.

Pride sipped at his tea while Wrath dealt with Hawkeye. For a moment when Wrath closed to door behind him he thought he was running away, but soon enough the younger homunculus returned and sat back down.

"It seems even your wife knows that _some things_ are more important than petty human affections." Pride took another long sip, watching Wrath's ever-present glower over the rim of the cup at still using his human voice. "Well, now we know how _Brandy_ feels, I wonder what the _sailor_ is going to do."

"If the sailor truly loved Brandy, he would choose her, something that is _real_ , over the indifferent, uncaring sea."

" **That's the wrong answer. Try again."** His true, metallic voice drawled, his shadow seeping out under his container and over the couch. No longer holed up inside him, a ripple ran through their growing tendrils, not of nervousness or agitation, merely a controlled, constant undulation. Through the Tunnel he often ebbed and flowed across the ceiling and walls like water, the dark waves of his shadow body relaying Father's orders to his siblings, from his lair in the heart of the world to wherever his Plans had taken them.

"She said it herself; she would remain loyal to the sailor." Wrath's harsh, gruff voice barked. The voice he was not permitted to use on _her_ , as her slap so long ago had taught him. He barked it in defense of _her_ , and her strange sort of love that Pride had come to know as well.

Pride pushed the thought away with a cruel giggle, his container's mouth set in a firm line. Poor, naïve Wrath.

" **She knows not of which she speaks. If she knew the truth about us, she would think us monsters, as all humans do. That fickle,** _ **human**_ **love would be gone."**

"I'm sure many already think I'm a monster. Ishval, Pendleton, Liore. Even if I were human that's a lot of blood on my hands, yet still she loves me in spite of all that. Don't forget, Pride, I _chose_ her."

" **Indeed, Father** _ **permitted**_ **that, but you knew then, as now, that it was only temporary. Your loyalty must always be to Father, as is our purpose."**

"What about Lust?"

 _What?_

Where had that come from?

" **What about her?"** His shadow hissed, eyes squinting.

"When Mustang killed Lust, her dying again, and again, and again, where was Father, hm?" An unspoken, awful accusation oozed out the gaps in Wrath's words.

 _Where were_ you?

Pride remembered that night, his container tucked up in bed while his true form scolded his lesser siblings for allowing the bothersome humans to infiltrate Father's lair. He recalled wondering where she had gotten to, concocting his own reprimand for her, _keep those two close to you, you know how they are,_ while below the Third Laboratory she was dying.

Should he have sought her out, told her of Envy and Gluttony's pathetic failure and dealt with the humans himself? Maybe then she wouldn't have-

His shadow's teeth clattered, almost inaudible, and the shadow itself shook more forcefully to drown out the wretched noise.

"What good did that devotion do her? She died alone, and for nothing."

" **Lust revealed the Flame Alchemist to us."** Pride stated, detached. **"He will become the Fifth Sacrifice, and Father will become a God."** It was the only answer, the only thing that seemed right. Her sacrifice could not be _meaningless_ … **"Even in her death, she served Father any way she could."** He kept his thoughts away from her death, her long, excruciating death at the hands of the Flame Alchemist. No, he must not think of it anymore. **"She died with her own pride intact, as Father would have wished."**

Wrath hunched forward, imposing, something malicious twitching beneath the bristles of his moustache.

" _Did she_?" Wrath goaded him. Of course, Wrath had been there, watching her burn. He _watched_ , and now Wrath dared to chance a further impudence, to imply Lust had disgraced herself. Pride could only secure and twist the truth to suit himself with knowledge he already possessed, and he did not know. He did not _want_ to know. But Wrath knew.

Lust… would she have pleaded, debased herself before Mustang and his dog while her blackened, scorched skin tried in vain to regenerate? No, Lust did not bend or beg to any human. She would never. Pride had known her far longer than any other. How could he doubt her in such a way, for even a moment, from such a weak taunt from his youngest brother? Pride's poisonous scowl turned inward in his shame, spiraling out into his shadow teeth.

" **I** _ **know**_ **she did."** His container's hands had clenched themselves, making little soft craters in the couch cushion.

"Of course. She died protecting Father's Plans, shackled as we are to that one ambition, chained down to his own selfish wants."

" **Do not speak that way of our Father."** The billowing shadow bristled, just once, before settling into its usual ripple. **"Our loyalty to Father is our strength. It is the chain that binds us homunculi together, and I will** _ **not**_ **allow you to be the weak link here."**

"Isn't that Greed, for a _second_ time?"

" **Do not deflect this to him. There can be** _ **two**_ **weak links, which I will not abide."**

Greed would have the opportunity to explain himself once came crawling back, which he certainly would, or Pride would drag him back. Greed's sudden departure was somewhat Wrath's fault, anyway.

But that sardonic smirk shone out from under Wrath's moustache,

" _Two_? Sounds like a shitty chain." and again, he dared to question their very unity, the reason for their existence. The shadow stilled, eyes fading. His container wilted the tiniest bit, his perfect hair losing a touch of its usual bounce.

He was failing again, like the first time Greed had betrayed them. Their loyalty, that should have been natural, wasn't good enough; _he_ wasn't good enough to keep them united under Father. Once more he was isolate from the others, alone in his devotion.

Alone. Had he always been alone? No, Lust had understood, the only one apart from him who was as loyal as Father desired, and in turn they had kept the others in their correct place. Her absence scattered them.

Lust gone, Greed deserting them again, Envy missing somewhere in the North, only the younger, immature half of his brethren could now be accounted for in Central. Pride didn't _need_ them, he was perfectly capable of serving Father by himself, but it was a slight inconvenience.

His frustration with needing to deal with his siblings so much younger than himself spurred him back into himself, and Pride sat straighter, self assured again. What else could he be? He was not faltering; Wrath must not see him falter. What kind of example would he be setting?

" **Regardless, we do not know if he has truly disgraced himself once more. We should consider Greed missing for the time being, same as Envy."** Pride's container remained impassive, while his shadow's too many eyes re-emerged and glared down on his insolent sibling. **"Shouldn't you be investigating where he has gotten to? And the Elric brothers for that matter."** The irksome Sacrifices could not continue gallivanting around with such impunity. Pride recalled his encounter with Hohenheim and allowed himself a tiny grimace in a shadow hidden beneath the couch. He turned his attention back to Wrath. **"Run along now, I'm sure the tea Hawkeye made for you** _ **back at Headquarters**_ **will be getting cold."**

Wrath stood, obeying him as he should. Pride's shadow receded into his container without a sound.

"The sailor should not waste his time with Brandy, short and fleeting as it is." The high chimes of his child voice whispered, far too staid, a horrible dissonance. "But do not forget what we have discussed, Wrath. When the Sea calls for you, you _will_ choose the Sea, and forget about her."

Wrath did not answer. The door clicked shut.

Pride sat, taking Wrath's silence as a respectful acceptance, and not a more _treasonous_ resentment. If Wrath wanted to ruin things with further quarrelling later on, then so be it. Surely he was not so foolish.

The quiet dragged on, until he dimly heard Mother opening the door and perked up into his flawless charade.

"Did you decide on the ending, Selim?" If she was startled that Wrath had left while she was gone, she hid it well.

"Not yet." He zeroed in on the pastry she had brought with her. Mother handed him the plate, which he accepted with a grateful nod, eyes shining. "Thank you, Mother."

Hints of apple and orange poured from beneath its flaky exterior. It smelled so good. Pride took very polite bites, relishing in the unique taste of the pastry made especially for him. The shadow of his insides infinitely preferred to taste the fresh, hot blood of humans, but his container's palate was far less fussy, and could absorb and enjoy less striking tastes. Chocolate was good, too. The warmth of it settled as a soothing lump in the hollow of his container's 'stomach' for a little while, before the cold dark of his true body swallowed it.

Once he was finished Pride pulled the S.B. monogrammed pen from his pocket and started to fill in those awful blank spaces on his paper, where Brandy should have been.

 _Brandy…_

 _Brandy…_

 _Bradle-_

"Oops, wrote it wrong..." Pride murmured and sliced through the word with his pen, not a harsh scribble, just a neat line- _Bradley_ \- and he wrote the _correct '_ Brandy _'_ above it. His error stood as an inky blight on the paper.

Oh well. It was not really _him_ who had made the mistake; it was merely an extension of his act. A child like carefree Selim, freshly relishing in his freedom for the winter, could be allowed to make such an innocent mistake on something no one outside of his parents would ever see…

Pride folded the paper twice and set it down on the table. There was no need to continue it, anyway.

"Did you finish it?" Mother called to him from near the bookcases. He turned to her, curious. Why was she still standing up?

"No, but it's ok." Pride chirped. He kicked his legs over the couch's edge, showing that his unfinished tale and its certainly- _not-_ uncertain ending did not bother him one bit. A young boy is a capricious creature, something or other always stealing his attention away.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out, darling. In the meantime, do you want to read something? Maybe it will help, and if not it'll be fun for a bit, right?"

"Of course, Mother!"

Already she had selected the book from a shelf higher than his container in its default size could hope to reach and came to sit beside him on the couch. With a simple, gentle motion Mother waved him to her side and began to read.

Pride glimpsed at the cover and noted the book as the one she had suggested they read together before Greed had so rudely interrupted them. What had she said it was about? A traveler exploring the world? How apt, given his own story. Vaguely, he wondered if this traveler would have a 'Brandy', too.

He shuffled closer, so he could see the pictures. Why was he still thinking about that? It was irrelevant now, the story had served its purpose in showing Wrath his place so he needn't think of it anymore. He could toss the paper to the bottom of his toy chest along with the rest of his daily whims and never speak of it again.

While he sat close to Mother's side, her gentle voice washing over him, Pride felt the tugging whisper of the Sea in his mind. He couldn't possibly waste the rest of his afternoon like this, _reading_. There was still so much Father needed of him…

Mother paused, smiling down at him, stroking at his hair. Pride felt the familiar patter of her tender, human heart, and the warmth of her seeped into him, flitting around in his own, shadow filled chest. An ashamed blush heated his cheeks, but he nuzzled closer still.

The glorious, raging Sea called to him again, but for a moment Pride gazed up into the calm, clearer ocean of her green-grey eyes, and he couldn't hear it anymore.

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Hope you guys liked this, any reviews or anything appreciated, and if you want more Bradley family stuff please check out the sorta sequel, Birds of a Feather ^_^ By the way, pretend that underline on Bradley near the end is strikeout'd, curse you fanfiction .net!

Oh, and the pasty Pride eats is Chilean Empanadas, sounded like a nice recipe.


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